Body of Chicago woman killed in Bali returned to U.S. for second autopsy

Sheila von Wiese-Mack's body was discovered by Indonesian police Aug. 12, 2014, stuffed into a suitcase at a resort in Bali. Her daughter, Heather Mack, of Chicago, and Heather's boyfriend, Tommy Schaefer, of Oak Park, were tried and found guilty in her murder.

The body of a Chicago woman murdered and found stuffed in a suitcase on the island of Bali last week has been returned to the U.S., where a second autopsy will be conducted, her brother said Wednesday.

William Wiese told the Tribune the FBI accompanied his sister’s body back from Indonesia on a flight that arrived Wednesday at Dulles International Airport in Virginia. He said an autopsy will be performed at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.

In the family’s first interview since Sheila von Wiese-Mack’s body was discovered at a luxury hotel, Wiese stopped short of blaming his sister’s pregnant daughter, who along with her boyfriend has been detained for their suspected role in a murder that has attracted international coverage.

“We’re really in a waiting pattern to see what develops in the investigation and the judicial process,” he said.

Wiese said von Wiese-Mack had long confided in him and their other sister, Debra, of her struggles with her daughter, Heather Mack, 18. Police in the family’s former hometown of Oak Park have said they made 86 visits to the home since 2004 to investigate allegations that Mack repeatedly battered her mother, threatened her and ran away.

In the most serious incident, the mother alleged that her daughter had pushed her to the ground, causing von Wiese-Mack to suffer a broken arm in 2011. Von Wiese-Mack often declined to have her only child arrested, according to police reports.

“I think my sister loved Heather more than anything,” Wiese said. “She would seek our input and advice. She tried so hard to help Heather through the years with therapists and psychiatrists. It was always a struggle to get Heather to (cooperate).”

One week after a woman from Chicago was murdered in Bali, her body will be returned to Chicago Tuesday.

One week after a woman from Chicago was murdered in Bali, her body will be returned to Chicago Tuesday.

Wiese was unaware of any specific diagnosis, though police reports suggest Mack suffered from depression. Wiese said the girl grew more difficult after the 2006 death of her father, James, a highly regarded Chicago jazz and classical music composer. He died after he suffered a pulmonary embolism in his hotel while on vacation.

Von Wiese-Mack alleged in a lawsuit against Royal Caribbean Cruises that his death was the result of an injury suffered during an earlier Greece vacation. A Cook County judge in 2011 approved a $1.5 million settlement.

Mack and her boyfriend, Tommy Schaefer, 21, were taken into custody shortly after von Wiese-Mack’s body was discovered.

An initial autopsy on von Wiese-Mack’s body was conducted in Indonesia and found that she died of asphyxiation, authorities said. She suffered a broken neck and had defensive wounds, indicating a struggle.

Wiese said he suspects Schaefer showed up in Bali without his sister’s prior knowledge. The brother said von Wiese-Mack was excited about the trip when they last spoke.

“I think she was hoping it would be a fresh start for her and Heather,” he said. “She was such an optimist. She was forever trying to help that girl.”

Wiese said the family is planning a September memorial service in Chicago. Meanwhile, fellow parishioners at von Wiese-Mack’s longtime church, St. Chrysostom’s Episcopal Church in Chicago, are grieving their friend.

The Rev. Walter Smedley said the congregation remembered her during its Sunday services last weekend. Smedley said von Wiese-Mack had been a member for nearly three decades and that Heather was baptized there.

“We didn’t have all the details but we did know she was going through a hard time,” he said. “She had shared with us her concerns for her daughter and desire to try to help her. We had offered her as much love and support as we could.”